Chandigarh Municipal Corporation to soon make a policy for door-to-door garbage collection

The Chandigarh Municipal Corporation is likely to frame a policy for door-to-door garbage collection in the city soon. Sources said the civic body was planning either to give the work to a company or take over the operation under its own purview. A senior municipal official said: “Another purpose to frame a policy is to have a uniform rate throughout the city for door-to-door garbage collection.” At present, people have their own garbage collectors who charge arbitrarily. In some sectors, residents are charged Rs 100, while in others they are charged Rs 150 and Rs 200. Sources said since the municipal corporation is planning to start segregation at source by introducing two coloured dustbins, there was a need to educate the door-to-door garbage collectors about segregation of green waste and solid waste. Green dustbins to be meant for disposing green waste, while solid waste would be thrown in the blue dustbins. The civic body has failed to streamline the system of door-to-door garbage collection in the past. In 2012, the door-to-door garbage collectors had protested against the civic body when the latter tried to introduce a pilot project of garbage collection in Sector 22. The garbage collectors went on a strike, following which garbage was not lifted for days. Therefore, the MC had to scrap the project. Now, with the city getting 2.5 lakh two coloured dustbins and segregation to begin at source from June 5, the MC is making efforts to frame a policy for garbage collectors. The municipal corporation has been under constant fire for unclean environment. The councillors had told that the Swachh Bharat mission was a flop show as garbage was not being lifted properly. The segregation of garbage at source level is being proposed for the last many years. Even during the term of the then municipal commissioner Bhawna Garg who had visited Coimbatore with the then joint commissioner Rajiv Gupta, she had pressed for segregation at source level. However, it was never implemented.